What to do in a Desert
by Ryna-chan
Summary: What could anyone possibly do to entertain themself while walking in a wasteland? Lloyd Irving should think more about these kinds of things
1. Shadow Tag

**Hm, a one shot drabble thingy. Imagine that. **

**I like Lloyd being the kid and Kratos being the "secret" kid. It's a funny thought. As always, expect OOC from me. Hey, that rhymed! **

**I don't own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, Mithos would be a girl. Why? Cause he makes a pretty one. Adult and child version. **

* * *

Left foot. Sand. Right foot. Sand. Left foot. Sand. Right foot--

Oh look, a stone!

…nope, just another overly large chunk of clumped sand.

Lloyd Irving grimaced at the false hope of a change in the Sylvarant desert. He and Genis were traveling with the World Regeneration group to Triet, after utterly destroying a strange inferno canine-guardian and releasing the first seal.

The odd assembly of two kids, a girl with wings, a teacher, a "dog", and a mercenary, were unceremoniously walking through the barren region. The endless sand and dust swirled around them as they strolled along, creating a small tornado-like blizzard of sand.

Not only was the scenery was boring, but…

"Can't we do anything fun?!" the brunette cried out his frustration like the inpatient adolescent that he was, kicking the accursed dirt that was covering his vivid scarlet boots.

Behind the leader Lloyd, the Sage siblings sighed in unison; the elder rubbing her temple and the younger shaking his head. Colette smiled in her foolish manner as always, rubbing the back of Noishe's ears in an absentminded habit.

Kratos Aurion merely glowered at the back of twin swordsman's head.

The blistering sun wasn't making anything easier either; even though the sun was setting ever-so-slowly. Droplets of sweat beaded down the brunette's brow, as he concentrated on what he should do for the next six hours to entertain himself. His mind often wandered to the sun and its evilness, making everyone's shadows so long and dancing in front of him…

That's-!

"You're it!" Lloyd literally stomped on a certain purple donned man's shadow.

Kratos stopped momentarily from his striding and quirked an eyebrow in question. What _was_ Lloyd doing?

"You're it!" the twin swordsman declared again as if the mercenary didn't hear him the first time he yelled. The brunette tapped the elder swordsman's silhouette on the desert floor with his foot for emphasis. "Haven't you ever heard of Shadow Tag?"

The mercenary replied with silence.

…and a glare of exasperation.

"Fine, fine…" the red clad youth pouted for a second before turning his attention to a smaller outline on the sand. With a loud cry of triumph, Lloyd ran across Genis's shadow and hollered "You're it!!"

Now, since the sun was facing the group's backs, and Lloyd was in the front of the crowd, it was obvious that he had a great advantage at this so-called game. He could touch anyone's shadow, and the others in turn would have to plainly run in front of the brunette to tag his.

Genis Sage was well aware of this apparent drawback.

…and that's why he broke into a mad dash.

With a laugh, the twin swordsman began running as well, making sure to keep only a few strides away from his short friend. "Come on, you almost got me!" He encouraged, but everyone was well aware that the silver haired child could never catch the physically sound teenager.

Colette began running as well along with Noishe, hoping to join the game, and the remaining two adults glanced uneasily at each other before breaking into a sprint themselves.

The teacher and mercenary didn't need to run far, though. They soon caught up with the children: an exhausted Chosen, "dog", and sorcerer, plus an elated young adult.

"You almost had me, Genis!" Lloyd grinned widely, still making sure to keep ahead of everyone else.

The silver haired youth glared angrily in return.

The brunette closed his chocolate eyes and placed his arms behind his head casually. It seemed he was not affected by the heat at all anymore, while the other children panted and wheezed with the lack of fresh air.

The disguised seraph noted that with interest. Obviously, Kratos himself was unaffected by the heat because of his Cruxis Crystal, but Lloyd seemed to forget anything and everything if he had his mind on something else.

"You know," the twin swordsman began, trying to sound logical and self-assured, "if you only-umph!" With a small thud, the red clad youth crashed into something warm. Lloyd blinked and looked up to stare into garnet eyes.

Kratos stood in front of Lloyd, his somewhat muscular arms crossed over his chest; the auburn haired man wanted nothing more than to see his son win and smile, but he couldn't pass such a great opportunity. He looked blank for a moment, before a sly smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Wait. Smile? The twin swordsman gawked.

The purple donned adult glimpsed at the ground, and curious, the younger swordsman did the same.

Kratos was standing on top of Lloyd's shadow.

"You're it."


	2. I Spy

**Hm, I could turn this into a bunch of oneshots…cool.**

**I don't own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, Kratos would have a beach outfit. **

* * *

Of course Colette would forget something at her house.

Of _course_ she would want to backtrack all the way home to Iselia to get it.

Of _COURSE_ she just happened to remember about it after traveling through the Tower of Mana and breaking the second-to-last seal.

So guess what?

Lloyd and company were once again walking through the Sylvarant desert, heading towards the Ossa Trail after coming back from Iselia.

The brunette's left eye twitched horribly. _All for a stupid, freakin' RABBIT charm?!_ Not only did they had to WALK all the way back, and not only did Lloyd and Genis had to wait outside while the rest of the group went into the village; the two friends had to sleep on the rough cold ground whereas everyone else decided to spend the night inside Iselia.

And now, the twin swordsman was bored.

Once again.

The newest addition to the party, Sheena, sighed loudly as she looked around herself. The summoner was obviously uninterested at the same surroundings as well.

"I spy with my eye something…light brown."

"Dirt." Genis and Sheena both responded automatically, glaring in exasperation at Lloyd, whom had tried ten times to stump everyone with the same exact phrase.

The young man pouted for a moment before saying, "I spy with my eye something orange."

"Raine's outfit."

"Purple?"

"Kratos."

"Gray?"

"My hair." The younger boy replied, whilst Sheena said, "Raine's hair."

Lloyd gave a loud snort, before grumbling, "Why doesn't someone else think of something?"

The entire group was silent; Colette would've spoken had not she became a mute. The desert breeze blew gently, cooling everyone from the hot afternoon.

"I spy with my eye something green."

Professor Raine raised an eyebrow in question to the speaker, the purple donned mercenary.

Kratos nonchalantly shrugged under the former teacher's calm gaze before lightly retorting; "It will keep them occupied."

Lloyd, Genis, Colette, and even Sheena thought for a moment. Green? What was green in this large bowl of sand?

"Noishe's ears!" Lloyd cried triumphantly, pointing at the large 'dog'.

"No." The elder swordsman held back a smirk at the dismayed expression of his son.

"Noishe's tail?" Sheena asked hopefully, not knowing what else to guess.

"No."

Raine herself began questioning what it was that the mercenary saw that was green. Perhaps he is only lying so the children would stay interested in the preposterous game?

The company kept walking in silence until they came upon the distant grassy hills of the Ossa Trail.

With shock, each person; to the exception of Kratos, Noishe, and Colette, gasped: "The grass…?!"

"You win!" With mock excitement, the auburn haired man congratulated the 'lovely participants'.

Kratos continued to stroll ahead, leaving the bewildered group to stare at his retreating back.

"'I barely…saw that…hill' And you have angel eyes!" Lloyd looked at Colette as she finished writing on his hand. The brunette glanced at all of the equally confused faces. "Kratos must be…a BIRD!"


	3. Bringing to Camp

**This is the last thing before I update **First Aid**! Promise! Don't hurt meee…**

**Back due to popular request! …not really, but **Nasusi**, a nice reviewer, asked, so I did! (glares at readers that read my stories but never reviewed once)**

**I don't own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, Yuan would be in a z-skit. How? I wouldn't know. **

* * *

Only one question rang through Lloyd Irving's head while he walked across the famed Sylvarant desert with his companions.

_How in the heck do Rheairds break?_

With all the great technology that the group had discovered, they STILL had to walk?!?!

The brunette growled quietly as his continued to trek across the sand. The group was on their way to release the Summon Spirit of Fire, Efreet, to break yet another Mana Link. And once _**again**_, they were strolling/walking/crawling through the desert.

"Lloyd…Bud…" Zelos Wilder whined slightly, keeping his damp hair away from his blue eyes, "I'm hot…"

"We know this." Presea stated flatly, walking as if there was no change in temperature, "The heat is extremely appalling for all of us."

The male chosen seemed to consider his next statement. "No, I mean I'm sexy hot!" He exclaimed cheerfully, earning a chorus of groans from everyone, excluding Colette and Regal; Colette was just too polite and busy carrying Regal, whom had fainted from heatstroke.

Lloyd pouted in his best and famous fashion, "I'm BORED!" He cried none too happily, inwardly cursing any Summon Spirits he knew; because he couldn't curse a non-existent goddess.

"Déjà vu…" Genis hummed thoughtfully; Sheena and Raine nodded in agreement.

Lloyd wracked his brain for any entertainment he could come up with. Shadow Tag was boring without Kratos, I-spy was worse without the seraph's great vision, what other…? The twin swordsman grew even angrier at the auburn haired man. Not only did he betray them, but he took all the fun game possibilities with him!?

Then Lloyd remembered the game that one of the ladies that was at the House of Salvation taught him. "Sand" He stated simply.

The others stared back in bewilderment at the red clad youth, but Genis immediately caught on to the game the brunette had started. "Disaster"

"Rip"

"Pier"

"Rose"

"Ever"

"Reek"

"Kilometer"

"Race"

"Earlier"

"R…Argh!" Lloyd glared angrily at his friend. "Stop ending everything in a 'r'!"

Genis had to smile at the statement. The small half elf was never gifted for physical games, but word games were his specialty. It was one thing Lloyd could in no way best him in. "Wanna try again?" The silver haired boy challenged, the awful heat forgotten.

The twin swordsman knew he could never win; he wasn't smart enough.

But it didn't mean he backed away from a challenge.

"Great"

"Tangible"

_What's that? _For a moment, Lloyd panicked; he couldn't even spell the word! How was he to make a word of the ending letter if he didn't even know what it was? Then, as if a deep voice spoke to him, a word formed in his head. "Encapsulation"

"What the heck??" Genis gasped at the twin swordsman; Raine choked on her own saliva, Persea blinked, Sheena widened her eyes in surprise, Colette looked questionably, Regal was still fainted, and Zelos didn't care. "Where did you learn that word?" Genis asked wildly, not believing that such an advanced word of vocabulary came out of Lloyd's mouth.

"I-It doesn't matter!" Lloyd smirked as he crossed his arms. In truth, he had no idea; the brunette didn't even know if it was a word. It just...popped in his head. "Say the next word!"

Genis gave a loud snort. He wasn't going to play nice anymore…"Neodymium"

Again, the twin swordsman felt a shot of alarm at the large and difficult word, but without delay another word tumbled out of his mouth, "Monomania"

"…Aurora?"

"Anthropomorphism"

"Wha…?" Genis gaped. How could Lloyd know a word he himself didn't know? Impossible! "What does that word mean?" The silver haired boy shot crossly, ready to laugh if he didn't know.

And Lloyd didn't.

However, his mouth thought differently.

"An interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics." The definition flowed out of the brunette's mouth, much to everyone's surprise.

Professor Raine, obviously knowing every word ever created, nodded her head to confirm the explanation that Lloyd gave. "That is the exact dictionary description!" She exclaimed happily, praising her student with many hearts.

"Wow, my bud's smart!" Though he said it casually, Zelos couldn't help the small gape he had on his face.

Genis was dispirited.

Once again.

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_Many miles away from the merry group, a certain auburn haired man cackled quietly, watching the scene with amusement. "That'll teach Genis to make fun of Lloyd's intelligence; only I can do that." _

_Kratos Aurion glanced at the exshpere imbedded in his white glove, thanking a non-existent goddess that Colette wasn't the only one that could speak through the mind. "Heh, the benefits of being an angel…"_


	4. The Forgotten Chapter

**This "chapter" stinks. No, really. I'm even sorry to post this Martel forsaken thing on here. (shrugs) I can only hope no one will review this…but this was the only thing I could use to push this along. **

**I don't own Tales of Symphonia. Huh. **

* * *

It was hot.

No, really hot.

So hot, Lloyd felt his brain melting.

The brunette decided that traveling to the Triet Base to pick up the Rheairds wasn't the smartest thing to do after defeating the Summon Spirit of Fire, Efreet. Not only was half the party suffering from second degree burns, but they had run out of water when Efreet had _fried_ them all; evaporating their supply of the needed liquid.

And it was only obvious Genis couldn't perform a water spell in his exhausted state; plus Sheena couldn't summon Undine with her limited amount of mana. Excuses, excuses!

"ARGH!" Lloyd held his head with both hands, gritting his teeth savagely. Couldn't someone take him out of his misery? Surely some agent of Cruxis saw them at the moment; couldn't they just swoop down and capture them?! Anything!

Raine watched the red clad young man mumble angrily to himself with a worried expression. The half elf hoped that Lloyd wasn't planning something hasty…

The twin swordsman raised a fist toward heaven, shouting curses to Yggdrasill, Cruxis, Kratos, and anybody's dog. Finally convinced that he had cursed anyone worth cursing, the tired brunette called for a break. Lloyd sunk into the ground, ignoring the protest of his injured legs.

Sheena collapsed on her back, only to hiss in pain. The hot ground obviously did not help her sunburns. Presea sat on the scorching sands without even a flinch, while Genis cautiously followed suit. Colette knelt next to the sprawled Sheena, Regal remained standing instead, and Zelos squatted near the ground. All of them blew a long sigh of relief.

Raine dropped the supply bag on the ground to sit down herself.

_Sploosh_

Everyone's ears perked at the familiar sound. "What was that…?" Lloyd couldn't erase the hopefulness out of his voice.

All at once the group, to the exception of Presea and Colette, dove at the supply bag; almost ripping it in the process. They each struggled with the leather carrier until a bottle slipped out and landed with a _thunk_ in the sand.

"It's some Mizuho Potion!" They all exclaimed in unbelief.

A moment of silence passed.

"Hey…I should have it right?" Zelos offered a shaky smile, "A delicate guy like myself should be taken care of."

"No way!" Sheena fumed, smacking the male chosen on the side of his head, "If anyone should have it, it's me! I'm the summoner around here; it's exhausting stuff!"

Genis gave a cry of protest. "I'm the one using all the magic! I should get it!"

"What about me!?" Lloyd growled, stomping on his foot, "I'm the freakin' _hero_! There's nothing more important than that!"

As the younger half of the group broke into an all-out brawl, the two adults looked at the bottle and then at each other. "Spilt it with you." They presented the idea simultaneously.

"WHAT!?" Lloyd, Sheena, Zelos, and Genis leapt upon the unsuspecting adults, and it formed into a large fight cloud with all the desert sand.

Colette watched the clash with Presea. "Do you think we should help them?" The blond asked the other girl in a concerned tone.

The pink haired girl shrugged slightly before stating, "Probability of avoiding group battle: thirteen percent."

"Is that a yes?"

"Affirmative."

The two strong girls jumped into the fray, causing an even larger cloud of struggle to form. No weapons were drawn though; only sounds of punches, kicks, growls and yelps were heard by any passerby.

The Mizuho Potion lay in the sand, somewhat forgotten. A white gloved hand, however, picked the bottle off the ground; the new owner smirked at his prize. "I was becoming fairly thirsty as well…" Kratos of the Four Seraphim chuckled, watching the amusing fight cloud with the potion in hand. He had planned to show himself to the group to intimidate them into not forming anymore pacts, but taking their luxurious drinks was the next best thing.

The auburn haired man placed the bottle to his lips and sipped the wonderfully spiced drink, swishing it gratefully in his mouth. He gulped the rest greedily and sighed in contentment, lightly smacking his lips together. "Hm, that was excellent…" Kratos mused aloud, still not gathering any attention from the brawlers a few meters away from him.

With an indifferent shrug, the seraph pulled out his light blue wings; and in a dazzling show of bright colorful lights, teleported back to Derris Kharlan.

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Lloyd was the first to notice the empty bottle. An anguished scream was ripped from his throat, and he cried even after the professor struck him on the head.

Repeatedly.

"What have I done to deserve this!?" the red clad man sobbed loudly into his arm, gallantly ignoring any actions of comfort or threat.

Everyone decided to leave the brunette to his 'mourning'.


	5. Ten Questions

**Ohmygosh, it lives!!! Whoa. **

**Not much to say about this; I don't know how long I can keep dragging this out without just screwing over the 'plotline'…wait, it has one? (shrug) Oh, for the chapter title; I know the game is actually called "Twenty Questions", but...shut up. XD **

**Haha, this story so far could be renamed and called: "Kratos PWN's you", but not this chapter... (snicker)**

**I don't own Tales of Symphonia; let us be glad, cause only Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd, and Botta would be the main characters. That would be weird…(gasp) STORY IDEA?! **

* * *

Now, Lloyd wasn't a particularly paranoid person.

Most stalkers could get within five yards of him and shout 'Here I am!' and go by unnoticed by the brunette. Like Sheena, for instance.

But why was it that Lloyd could sense someone watching him?!

The twin swordsman growled inaudibly, jabbing at the weak fire that was slowly dieing out. He had volunteered to be the night watch, allowing the other members to acquire their much needed rest as they camped out in the Triet desert. Why they decided to stay outside in the cool desert air; when the Triet Base was an hour's walk away, the brunette was still trying to figure out.

Needless to say though, after three hours, Lloyd simply ignored the presence and pressed into a much more concerning issue.

What was he going to do for the next five hours?

Lloyd sighed deeply, watching the last ember of the fire die out, casting the entire campground to be bathed in moonlight instead. "Huh…now what…" He yawned widely; his large chocolate eyes drooping into a dazed state.

'_Boy…'_

If Lloyd was drinking anything, he would've choked"Who's there?!" the brunette hissed in a harsh whisper, drawing his twin swords and standing up abruptly; no longer so drowsy.

'_Booooy…' _The voice sounded to be a man's, and Lloyd couldn't help but think that he had heard it before…

"Yes, I know I'm one," the red clad young man rolled his eyes at the voice inside his head. Maybe he was going crazy; Lloyd didn't really care for the most part.

At least it was something to do.

'_Care to play a game?'_

Now, a person with common sense would've thought this question through. It could've been a demon that wanted to gamble for another soul, or maybe a psycho that liked to kill innocent naive teenagers.

Sad to say, Lloyd wasn't under the category of 'people with common sense'.

"What kind of game?" He asked eagerly, forgetting for a moment that he was talking to someone inside his thoughts as the brunette sheathed his two blades.

'_A guessing one.'_

The red clad man smiled widely. "Sure!" He chirped happily, not even bothering to find where the voice could be coming from; choosing instead to stare blankly in a general direction. "What are the rules?"

'_You have to guess of something or someone that I think of. The only clues you receive will be through ten "yes or no" questions that you ask me.' _

"Ooh! Sounds fun!" Lloyd bounced lightly in place, excited that he was to learn a new game. "Can I start?"

'_If you understand the rules, be my guest.'_

"Okay…" the twin swordsman pondered for a moment. "Are you thinking of a thing?"

'_No.'_

Lloyd laughed in triumph. "Ha! So it's a person!" He exclaimed. The voice, of course, didn't respond, but the brunette knew that he was right. "Is it someone I know?"

'_Yes.'_

Now, why Lloyd didn't wonder how the voice would discern whether or not he knew the person was beyond anyone's guess, but the red clad young man silently pouted. The question didn't actually narrow the selection at all; he had met so many people in his journey! "Is it a guy?"

'_Yes.' _The voice chuckled quietly, earning Lloyd's attention.

"What's so funny?" The brunette asked suspiciously, frowning. The twin swordsman was beginning to think that the game might be somehow rigged…

As if it read his thoughts, the male voice chuckled again, and Lloyd could almost imagine the figure shaking his head. _'It doesn't matter. You have seven questions left.'_

Lloyd furrowed his brow in concentration. "Um…is he…old?"

The male voice laughed heartily, but it seemed to cut off after a moment. The brunette was about to ask if he was all right, but the voiced sounded in his head; if not a bit strained: _'…yes.'_

"Huh…" the twin swordsman scratched the back of his head, obviously thinking quite intensely. "Does he have white hair?"

'_No.'_

"He has no hair?"

'_No.'_

Lloyd blinked. "Is that 'no, he doesn't have hair', or 'no, he has hair'?"

The voice simply laughed. _'I only answer "yes" or "no".'_

"Argh…" Lloyd slapped his forehead, growing more agitated with the voice inside his mind. "Okay, does he have hair?"

'_Yes. Three questions left.'_

"Man…" The brunette racked his brain, thinking of how many old men he knew that had their hair and it wasn't white. Then again, what was considered old, anyways? "Is…it someone that I know really well?" The question would have to narrow it to only two people: Dirk (He had _some_ of his hair…) and Regal (He's considered old, right? Lloyd wasn't too sure).

'_Yes.'_

"Does he fight with his feet?"

A laugh. _'No.'_

Yes! Lloyd pumped his fist into the air and cheered wordlessly. He figured who the voice was thinking of! "It's my Dad!" The brunette cried out a bit too loudly, and had to clamp his hands over his mouth for the sake of not waking anyone up. "Is it my dad?" The red clad youth asked in a whisper.

The male voice was silent for a moment, as if not knowing how to respond. Finally, the voice sighed and said, _'You can only guess after all ten questions are used.'_

The twin swordsman rolled eyes, "Fine, fine…" He grumbled, just wanting to win the game, "Does he have brown hair?"

'_No.' _the voice almost sounded like it sniggered the answer, but Lloyd didn't really pay attention; he was a little preoccupied with the fact that…HE WAS WRONG…?!

"It has to be my dad!" the brunette felt his jaw drop, "I mean, I don't know any other old people!" He had forgotten the small detail about everyone sleeping around him, but surprisingly, no one stirred with his outburst.

'_Too bad, you lost. __**Now give me your soul**__.'_

"Huh?!"

'_Heheh, just kidding.'_

The twin swordsman shifted uncomfortably. "Er…Hey, who are you anyways?"

But Lloyd only heard the answer of crickets chirping.

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_A certain blue haired seraph two miles away closed the telepathy link between Lloyd and himself. He turned to his companion beside him and held out his gloved hand expectantly._ _"Pay up, I won." Yuan grinned smugly._

"_Tch." Kratos Aurion placed a small leather pouch filled to the top with gald in the half elf's hand. "Swindler," The auburn haired man glared irritably, "You knew Lloyd would have never guessed the answer was myself."_

_Yuan laughed and shook his head; sending his lengthy ponytail to sway along. "Who said it was you?" He asked innocently while counting the money that he had 'earned'. _

_Kratos only growled in response. "Let this be the last time I allow you to convince me of a game." _

_The cobalt smirked. "Sore loser."_


End file.
